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"The WISE project has brought the 4 C's to [our] sexual health education program: Content, Consistency, Connection, and Confidence."

  —Curriculum Director

WISE in Washington State

WISE aims to build the capacity of Washington State schools and communities to adopt, deliver, and sustain comprehensive sex education (CSE) that is compliant with the Healthy Youth Act.

This goal will be met with the following outcomes:

• Increase awareness of, support for, and access to CSE in Washington State communities
• Increase the number of schools/school districts who implement CSE
• Increase the capacity of school districts to implement and sustain CSE

Cardea works closely with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Educational Service Districts (ESDs), school districts, and the Healthy Youth Alliance to provide training, technical assistance, and community mobilization efforts. The collaboration with these agencies will create continued support and sustainability of CSE beyond WISE funding.

Click here to review the Washington WISE Theory of Change.

Training and Technical Assistance (TA)

WISE provides training events to increase or enhance knowledge and/or skills among staff and administrators about CSE, to discuss values and attitudes around sexual health education, and to learn a specific curriculum. Customized training events might include:

• Review of the requirements of the Healthy Youth Act
• Comparison of curricula with the 2005 Guidelines for Sexual Health Disease Prevention
• Exercises to increase teacher comfort when teaching sexual health education
• Instruction on specific curriculum, including content & skill building
• Appropriate sexual health content for various grade levels
• Ways to partner with parents when providing sexual health education

WISE provides TA to create capacity within a district to provide & sustain CSE through a process involving relationship building, assessment, goal setting & skill building. We customize technical assistance to help districts:

• Establish sexual health policies and procedures
• Align current curriculum with the Healthy Youth Act
• Identify, choose, or adapt a curriculum
• Build community and parental support
• Sustain a sexual health education program

Funding

Washington WISE Project is part of a national WISE Initiative. This initiative is funded by the Ford, Grove, Hewlett, and Packard Foundations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Healthy Youth Act?

In 2007 Washington State passed the Healthy Youth Act, (RCW 28A.300.475). The Healthy Youth Act requires that all sexual health education offered in Washington public schools be — medically and scientifically accurate; age appropriate; appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, and disability status; and consistent with the OSPI and Washington State Department of Health 2005 Guidelines for Sexual Health and Disease Prevention.

What is Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE)?

Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) addresses both abstinence and age appropriate, medically accurate information. CSE is developmentally appropriate and provides students with information on relationships, decision-making, assertiveness, and skill building to resist social/peer pressure.1

Sources:

1Advocates for Youth. (2009, September). Comprehensive Sex Education: Research and Results. Retrieved from www.advocatesforyouth.org/storage/advfy/documents/fscse.pdf